VIDEO: SANZAAR boss hits back at whining Kiwis
REACTION: SANZAAR boss Andy Marinos has responded to New Zealand Rugby’s statement regarding the announcement of the Rugby Championship schedule in Australia.
With the final round of the Championship falling on December 12, NZ Rugby are fuming over a schedule that would leave the All Blacks stranded in quarantine at Christmas.
The New Zealand government is enforcing a strict two-week coronavirus quarantine period for all international arrivals, meaning that even if the players flew home straight after their final match against the Wallabies in Sydney they would face being isolated from their families.
However, in an interview with 1 NEWS, Marinos responded by arguing that the Kiwis did not raise any concerns for themselves or the other countries when there were earlier discussions on the tournament being held in New Zealand.
“We need to put facts on the table because there’s a lovely saying, ‘don’t let facts get in the way of a good story’,” Marinos told 1 NEWS.
“It wasn’t so long ago that a similar request like this was put forward to SANZAAR by Australia when there was contemplation of the event taking place in New Zealand.
“It was flatly denied [by NZR] and [Australia was] told ‘tough luck’.”
Story continues below…
LATEST NEWS 🇦🇷🇦🇺🇳🇿🇿🇦 🏆
SANZAAR has announced the match schedule and venues for TRC 2020. The 12-match, 6-week tournament will take place in Australia and will be played in Brisbane, Newcastle and Sydney Nov 7 to Dec 12.
Full details: https://t.co/P6VN1Whrpx#TRC2020 pic.twitter.com/8fMbKsQpZg— Super Rugby/TRC (@SuperRugby) September 23, 2020
Marinos hinted that there is little to no chance the schedule will be changed.
“The other three partners [Australia, South Africa and Argentina] have been pretty clear,” Marinos said.
“Their preference is to stick with the schedule as it is.”
Marinos said it is not SANZAAR’s problem if New Zealand decides to boycott the December 12 match against the Wallabies.
“I think that more should be a concern for NZ Rugby and how they would contemplate and manage that,” he added.
Source: 1 NEWS (TVNZ)
